washington — The maiden liftoff of a new American rocket called Vulcan Centaur has been delayed from December 24 to January 8, the company that developed it said Thursday. The postponement stems from last-minute technical snags, but United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said on X, formerly Twitter, that a recent dress rehearsal on the … Read more
U.S. pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck say a clinical trial for an experimental Moderna mRNA vaccine used in combination with the Merck cancer therapy drug Keytruda reduced the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma by nearly 50%. In a release from Moderna on Thursday, the company said the trial included 157 patients with high-risk … Read more
For the first time in Hayao Miyazaki’s decades-spanning career, the 82-year-old Japanese anime master is No. 1 at the North American box office. Miyazaki’s latest enchantment, “The Boy and the Heron,” debuted with $12.8 million, according to studio estimates. “The Boy and the Heron,” the long-awaited animated fantasy from the director of “Spirited Away,” “My … Read more
The future of fossil fuels is at the center of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, where many activists, experts and nations are calling for an agreement to phase out the oil, gas and coal responsible for warming the planet. On the other side: energy companies and oil-rich nations with plans to keep drilling … Read more
LOS ANGELES — Ryan O’Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in Love Story and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter, Tatum, in Paper Moon, died Friday, his son said. “My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting … Read more
The U.S. Commerce Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Friday $1 million in funding to improve the collection of Arctic climate data. In a statement, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the U.S. Arctic region — which consists of the state of Alaska — is warming faster than any region in … Read more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved a pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease, including the first treatment based on the breakthrough CRISPR gene editing technology. The agency approved Lyfgenia from bluebird bio, and a separate treatment called Casgevy by partners Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics. Both the therapies were … Read more
Friday is the 35th annual World AIDS Day, a time to remember the estimated 40.4 million lives lost to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, since the epidemic began in 1981. Worldwide, more than 39 million people live with HIV, upwards of 1 million Americans among them. In a statement Friday, President Joe Biden said … Read more
The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a warning for a strong geomagnetic storm Saturday, saying power and communications systems could be affected in the Northern Hemisphere after a significant solar flare was observed on the sun. In a statement on its website, the agency said G3, or strong geomagnetic storm conditions, were observed … Read more
Microsoft President Brad Smith recently met with China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao to discuss important topics including artificial intelligence (AI), economic cooperation and trade relations between Washington and Beijing. According to a CNBC report, key details about this meeting are mentioned in a Chinese government announcement, which has been translated using the Chinese search … Read more
